How to Convert a Webpage to PDF in Mozilla Firefox without Extensions

Why Save a Webpage as a PDF?

There are countless reasons you might need to save a webpage. You might want to keep a permanent record of an online receipt, save an important article to read offline during a flight, or capture a snapshot of a website design before it changes. While you could bookmark the page, bookmarks rely on the website remaining online. If the page is deleted or updated, your bookmark becomes useless.

Saving a webpage as a PDF ensures you have a permanent, locally stored copy that looks exactly like the original site. Best of all, if you use Mozilla Firefox, you do not need to download any sketchy third-party extensions or use ad-filled conversion websites to do this.

How to Print to PDF in Mozilla Firefox

Firefox utilizes your operating system’s built-in "Print to PDF" functionality to generate the file. This process works identically on Windows, macOS, and Linux desktop environments.

1. Open Mozilla Firefox and navigate to the webpage you want to save.
2. Click the Application Menu (the three horizontal lines) in the top-right corner of the browser window.
3. Select Print… from the dropdown menu, or press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + P (Windows/Linux) or Cmd + P (Mac).
4. The Firefox Print Preview window will appear.
5. In the print dialogue, look for the Destination or Printer dropdown menu.
6. Change the destination from your physical printer to Save to PDF (or "Microsoft Print to PDF" on some Windows machines).
7. Click the blue Save button.
8. A standard file explorer window will open. Choose where you want to save the file (e.g., your Desktop or Documents folder), give it a descriptive name, and click Save again.

Optimising the PDF Output

Webpages are designed for scrolling screens, not static pages, which means they can look messy when converted directly to a PDF. Before clicking the final save button, you should use Firefox’s Print Preview settings to clean up the document.

• Remove Headers and Footers: By default, Firefox prints the page URL, date, and page numbers at the top and bottom of every page. If you want a cleaner look, scroll down in the print settings, click More settings, and uncheck the box for Print headers and footers.
• Enable Background Graphics: Many modern websites use CSS backgrounds for color and structure. If your PDF preview looks like plain text on a white background, ensure the Print backgrounds box is checked.
• Adjust Scale: If a wide table or image is being cut off at the edge of the PDF, change the Scale setting from "Fit to page width" to a custom percentage, such as 80%, to shrink the content down so it fits within the margins.

The Ultimate Trick: Using Reader View Before Saving

The biggest problem with saving webpages is the clutter: sidebars, navigation menus, newsletter pop-ups, and advertisements. If you only want to save the core article text and images, you should use Firefox’s Reader View before generating the PDF.

1. Navigate to the article you want to save.
2. Look at the right side of the URL address bar. If the page is compatible, you will see an icon that looks like a piece of paper (Reader View).
3. Click the Reader View icon (or press F9). The page will instantly transform, stripping away all ads, sidebars, and formatting, leaving only clean text and images.
4. Now, press Ctrl + P (or Cmd + P) to open the print dialogue.
5. Set the destination to Save to PDF and click Save.

By combining Reader View with the Print to PDF function, you generate a beautiful, highly readable document that is perfect for archiving, studying, or sharing with colleagues.